martiniboys event calendar «»February 2010 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

The main problem with the film is how pussified the vampires are. Vampires are supposed to be badass creatures of the night who constantly hunt with an undying hunger for blood. In Twilight they can walk around during the day if it’s cloudy and are far too sensitive and emo to do anything like bite open the neck of a helpless young girl (I mean, it might mess up the perfectly combed hair and tastefully chosen clothing. No vampire can live with that). Granted, there are a few evil vampires in the story, but given the limitations of the PG-13 rating, they certainly aren’t frightening.

The film is directed by Catherine Hardwicke who is quite talented and fills the screen with exciting visuals. But since the story lacks that thematic depth of her previous movies like Thirteen, there’s very little she can do with the material beyond creating surface eye candy. Likewise the cast all do what they can with the limp characters, but since the script limits the actors to silently appearing tortured, there’s really not much to do. I’m sure this love story seems profound to young readers with only a vague understanding of the vampire myth, but anyone with even a basic understanding of the plot of Dracula knows that forbidden vampire love is a pretty damn conventional part of the genre that really offers nothing new. And at least in other pieces of vampire lore there isn’t nearly as much posing and pouting.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that the movie will be a huge financial success. After all, the established fan base is huge and emotional simplicity always sells tickets (Titanic, anyone?). It’s just a shame that the audiences who will be showing up at the theaters in droves will be satisfied by something so insubstantial. I hope that a few of the people turned away from sold out screenings on opening night will wander into Let The Right One In. If they do they’ll get the chance to see a vampire film that not only has an original take on the genre, but also features a tragic love story that is both believable and touching. Sadly, that won’t be happening. They’ll all probably just reapply dark eye shadow while rereading their Twilight novel for the 80th time instead. Sigh…